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• Fiance Visa Thailand
  

  For those seeking to bring a Thai Girlfriend to the United States, a K1 Fiance Visa may be a viable option. The US K1 visa is something of a combination of a non-immigrant visa and an immigrant spouse visa. Strictly speaking, the K1 Visa is a non-immigrant visa insofar as the K1 visa holder does not enter the USA with permanent residence. That being said, the visa holder should she meet the requirements of the visa through marriage to the petitioner within the 90 day visa validity period is entitled to adjust status to permanent residence in the United States.
  If speed is an issue the K1 Visa may be a viable immigration option
  In circumstance in which the couple wishes to be reunited in the United States as quickly as possible, a K1 Visa may be the best way to attian that goal. Generally, K1 Visas process faster than immigrant visas or K3 visas. Therefore if the couple is not yet legally married, then a K1 visa is probably faster than any of the alternatives (this may not be true in the case of local filings at the USCIS District office in Bangkok, which allows Immigrant Visa applications to qualified petitioners by filing at the local office an immigrant visa petition may be obtained faster than a K1 visa).
  The requirements to get a K1 Visa for a Thai Fiancee
  In order to obtain a K1 fiancee visa the couple must have had an in person face to face meeting within the previous 2 year period. Both parties must be free to marry meaning they must be single, have a spouse that predeceased them, have had a previous marriage dissolved through divorce proceeding, or had a previous marriage annulled. As a rule common law marriages are not recognized as marriages as such by US Immigration officials. However, this may be a moot point with regard to Thailand because Thailand is not a common law country. Financial requirements must also be met and evidenced by submitting an I-134 affidavit of support
  Adjustment of Status
  When a K1 visa holder enters the United States they must petition for adjustment of status in order to stay in the US permanently and get a Green Card. A Fiancee is permitted to remain in the United States while USCIS adjudicates the adjustment of status application.
  Other Issues
  For those K1 visa receipients wishing to enter the US and subsequently leave, advance aprole may be necessary in order to preserve their visa status. Also, those seeking to obtain work while present in the USA on a K1 before the adjustment of status application is adjudicaed are entitled to petition for a work permit.
  For more information please see:
  fiance visa thailand, k3 visa thailand, or us visa thailand
   
   

• THE AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT FOR A THAI FIANCEE OR SPOUSE
  

  WHAT IS THE AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT?
   
  When a US Citizen sponsors a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse for immigration to the United States the US Citizen must show that he/she can support the Thai immigrant. The US government is interested in making sure that an immigrant brought to the US (for our purposes a Thai loved one) will not become a public charge (welfare recipient).
  In order to prove to immigration officials that the US Citizen can indeed support his Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse he will need to fill out an affidavit of support. For a K-1 or K-3 visa the I-134 Affidavit of Support form is necessary to show the petitioner (US Citizen) meets the income requirement to support a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse. For an IR-1/CR-1 visa the I-864 Affidavit of Support is necessary to prove that the petitioner meets the income requirements.
   
  If you need general information on K-3 Visas for Thai Spouses visit:
  K3 Visas from Thailand
  Information on K3 Visas
  Thai-Visas K3 info
   

  For more general information on the K-1 fiancée visa for a Thai fiancée see:
  K1 Fiancee Visas for Thais
  K1 Visa information
  Thai Visas K1 page
   
   
  For more on Immigrant Relative Visas visit:
  Thai Visas IIR-1 and CR-1 Guide

   

  WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE I-134 AND THE I-864?
   
   
  There is some debate as to the difference between the I-864 and the I-134 Affidavits of Support. For the purposes of this article I will not delve greatly into their differences other than to make a note of their enforceability. There is some speculation as to whether or not the I-134 is an enforceable document. Basically, if you bring a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse to the United States and he/she becomes a public charge it is possible that a court will find that the US government cannot force you (the US Citizen) to pay for the benefits received by the Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse.
  The I-864 Affidavit of Support is a much stronger document with regard to enforceability. In fact an immigrant spouse in the US sued a US Citizen for payment based upon the I-864 Affidavit of Support claiming that she (the foreign spouse) was the third party beneficiary of a contract between the US Citizen and the US government. The Court found in favor of the foreign spouse.
  Another key difference between the I-864 and I-134 Affidavits of Support is how heavily scrutinized a US Citizen’s income and assets will be when the immigration officials decide to grant a visa for a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse. Generally, the I-134 is scrutinized less than and I-864. That being said, in this article we will look at the requirements for the I-864 because if a US Citizen meets those requirements then he/she will definitely meet the requirements necessary to support a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse under the I-134.
   
  INCOME REQUIREMENTS FOR SPONSORING A THAI FIANCE/FIANCEE OR SPOUSE UNDER THE I-134 OR I-864 AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT
   
  For a US Citizen to sponsor a Thai fiancée or spouse his income must meet the income requirement set forth by the US immigration authorities. The Citizen must show that his income is 125% of the poverty line. The following chart illustrates the poverty guidelines for 2007 along with the calculation necessary to determine if a petitioner’s income meets the 125% requirement. (Note: Military personnel on active duty need only show an income that meets the poverty level).
  2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines (125% of Poverty Line)

  Personsin Family or Household

  48 ContiguousStates and D.C.

  Alaska

  Hawaii

  1

  $10,210 ($12,762.50)

  $12,770 ($15,962.50)

  $11,750
  ($14,687.50)

  2

  $13,690
  ($17,112.50)

  $17,120
  ($21,400)

  $15,750
  ($19,687.50)

  3

  $17,170
  ($21,462.50)

  $21,470
  ($26,837.50)

  $19,750
  ($24,687.50)

  4

  $20,650 ($25,812.50)

  $25,820
  ($32,275)

  $23,750
  ($29,687.50)

  5

  $24,130 ($30,162.50)

  $30,170
  ($37,712.50)

  $27,750
  ($34,687.50)

  6

  $27,610 ($34,512.50)

  $34,520
  ($43,150)

  $31,750
  ($39,687.50)

  7

  $31,090 ($38,862.50)

  $38,870
  ($48,587.50)

  $35,750
  ($44,687.50)

  8

  $34,570 ($43,212.50)

  $43,220
  ($54,025)

  $39,750
  ($49,687.50)

  For each additionalperson, add

  $3,480
  ($4,350)

  $4,350
  ($5,437.50)

  $4,000
  ($5,000)

   
  SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 15, January 24, 2007, pp. 3147–3148
   
  WHAT IF I DON’T MEET THE INCOME REQUIREMENT NECESSARY TO SPONSOR A THAI FIANCE/FIANCEE OR SPOUSE FOR IMMIGRATION?
   
  A major concern arises when a US Citizen does not meet the above specified requirements for sponsoring a Thai fiancé/fiancée or spouse. The immigration authorities try to look at the whole picture when calculating a US Citizens ability to support a Thai loved one. Therefore if a Citizen’s income falls short of the above threshold then the Immigration Authorities look at the Citize